Inkjet printers are commonly used both for large scale printing, such as on banners and other signage items, as well as for small scale general consumer printing. Inkjet printers typically include a number of ink nozzles configured to eject ink onto a print medium such as paper. The process of ejecting a droplet of ink is often referred to as firing. Ink nozzles are typically fired through use of an ejection mechanism. One type of ejection mechanism is a thermal resistor. The thermal resistor heats ink within a small chamber associated with each nozzle. This causes the ink within the chamber to expand, causing an ink droplet to be propelled from the ink nozzle opening onto the print medium.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.